Blended learning in quality improvement training for healthcare professionals in Qatar

Training healthcare providers (HCP) in quality improvement (QI) is essential for both the HCP and the organization. Physicians and others who work in QI have developed the habit of being concerned with better patient outcomes, better system performance and better professional development as separate and distinct entities.1 During the last five years, the Clinical Care Improvement Training Program (CCITP) has been implemented as a formal curriculum that teaches QI principles to health care providers across Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), a large JCI accredited group of tertiary hospitals in Qatar. Education of these health care providers occurs in the form of face-toface didactic lectures. In addition, participants work collaboratively in groups to apply their knowledge in designing and implementing QI projects at their departments. While lectures are powerful methods for delivering large amount of information, studies have shown that interactive teaching styles are more popular and that the use of more of them would result in better knowledge retention.2,3 Thus, through combining them with other modalities such as simulation, problem based learning and group discussions, a better learning experience is achieved.4, 5 E-learning embraces an approach that typically aspires to be flexible, engaging and learner–centered; one that encourages interaction, and collaboration and communication, often asynchronously.6 Blended learning (BL), also known as hybrid learning, is a concept that describes the integration of classroom face-to-face instructions with online learning experiences. BL facilitates asynchronous collaborative learning together with the pedagogical selfdirected learning provided in the online platform while keeping the socialization benefit of face-to-face learning. Knowledge is continuously changing and advancing in medicine, therefore encouraging self-directed learning through e-learning would result in long term retention of knowledge unlike the passive absorption of knowledge that occurs in didactic lectures. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the successful implementation process of BL in teaching quality to HCP in Qatar and to report on the participants’ evaluation.